Description

Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre - BSBCC

The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) was founded in Sabah, Malaysia in 2008 as a two-stage effort to provide for the care, rehabilitation and release of orphaned and captive sun bears, as well as address the lack of knowledge and awareness of this little-known bear both in Malaysia and internationally. The Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), found only in south-east Asia, is the world’s smallest bear species. While Borneo is a remaining stronghold for this species, it is seriously threatened if not extinct in many areas of mainland Asia, including India, Bangladesh, China, Burma and Vietnam.more...

Unfortunately, sun bears face significant threats throughout their range, including in Borneo. The main threat to their survival is forest degradation and destruction; however, sun bears also are hunted illegally for bear parts for foods and medicines (including gall bladders), to prevent damage to crops and villages, and to capture small cubs for pets. According to the IUCN Bear Specialist Group, the total sun bear population has declined by at least 30% in the last 30 years (IUCN 2007). The Malayan sun bear is listed on Appendix I of CITES and it is illegal to kill or hunt these bears in Sabah (1997 Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment). In 2007, the World Conservation Union added the sun bear to its “vulnerable” classification on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2007).

Due to these threats, there currently are many young orphaned and captive sun bears living in small cages and substandard conditions in Borneo with no present hope of returning to the wild. These bears are living in highly unnatural conditions, many in small cages with no access to the outdoors or natural surfaces, much less trees and forested areas. Most of them have no physical contact with other bears. A solution is desperately needed for these captive bears, most of which are still very young and thus may be rehabilitated and reintroduced into the forest. Not only would this benefit the captive bears, it would also help ensure the long-term diversity and viability of existing sun bear populations in Borneo.

To address this problem, this project will create a new facility to house captive and orphaned sun bears in indoor/outdoor forest enclosures, as well as a forest site for rehabilitation and release of bears back into the wild. The primary goal of this project is to promote sun bear conservation in Borneo by (1) creating the capacity to confiscate, rehabilitate and release suitable orphaned and ex-captive bears back into the wild; (2) providing an improved long-term living environment for captive bears that cannot be released; (3) educating the public and raising awareness about this species; and (4) achieving increased protection for sun bears and their habitat through ongoing research, increased knowledge and awareness, and further protection of habitat.

Sun Bear Enrichment at BSBCC

Big thanks to our lovely volunteer Chung Yu Phei who make this special enrichment for our rescued adult female bear, Simone. Simone enjoys and seems so happy with her new “Cuboid” where she can take a siesta!!

Bear Story – Take Your Time to Know About Soo Bear

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Do you still remember the bear who has a sorrowful face, Soo? Good news, she had just recently finished her quarantine!

During her time in quarantine, she spends more of her time by staying up high. But she does have her favourite enrichment, Aussie Dog Ball. The Aussie dog ball is filled with her favourite food, dog biscuits and honey. Besides that, keepers are trying to introduce her many kinds of enrichment such as live tree branches, happy sacks and much more. But, she seems to like to play at night time where no one is around her. This is the reason we called her The Nocturnal. She is preferably active at night. We saw her improvement within the 30 days quarantine. She appreciates all the foods that we offer and she can be eating so fast.

Outreach to Lahad Datu – 12&13 Oktober 2017

This week, the BSBCC’s Education Team head to Lahad Datu district together with our partner from Hutan – Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Programme (KOCP). This Environmental Education outreach programme was organized by Hutan-KOCP and they invited BSBCC and Sabah Wildlife Department to participate in their programme. The first school we visited was SK Sabah Cocoa, Lahad Datu which is a rural school located in the middle of a plantation area. It is a low enrolment school (Sekolah Kurang Murid), only 39 pupils enrolled. The second school visited was SK Binuang, Lahad Datu. This school is about 15-20 minutes drive from Lahad Datu Town. Various activities were held during this programme such as talks, games, video show and colouring activity. Each participating organization also set up educational booth for the students and teachers to visit. Thank you Hutan-KOCP for inviting us to be part of the programme and we look forward to join more programmes with our partners in the future.

Environmental Education Outreach Programme 2017 – SK Kepangian, Ranau

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On the 19th of September 2017, BSBCC was invited to SK Kepangian, Ranau to organize a Wildlife Awareness Programme. It is about 4 and half hours drive to this school from Sandakan district. This school is one of the rural schools in Ranau district with 13 teachers and 107 students ranging from 7 to 12 years old. A lot of activities were held during the programme such as talks, video show, wildlife games, wildlife colouring activity and visit to exhibition booths. Besides BSBCC, our partners which were the Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) and Hutan – Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Programme (KOCP) also joined us. Huge thanks to SK Kepangian, Ranau for inviting us to their school and also to our partners, thank you for the continuous support! We were really glad to see the students learning more about the Mother Nature.

Bear Story – Mary The Sun Bears Voice – Finding Life In The Forest

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How many of you still remember Mary, the orphan sun bear who was rescued from pet trade with her body was shown stunted growth? Here’s the story about Mary who being rescued to her time in quarantine to forming relationships with other orphan bears to stepping out into forest environment, giving Mary a new journey in life. Please be a voice for our precious sun bear! Please spread the word that sun bears are WILD animals that belong in the forest, and NOT to end up behind bars. We need to clear the pet trade, poaching and deforestation. It is not over yet! Please let them enjoy the taste of freedom in the forest where they belong!

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